Chapter 88: Confirming the Guess — Oborotsuki Begins to Move!
Oborotsuki left the Mizukage office and soon found Sasori of the Red Sand inside a cave on a mountain outside Kirigakure.
"I mean, you're only called 'Sasori of the Red Sand'—do you really have to live like an actual scorpion in a cave?"
Oborotsuki stood at the cave entrance, watching helplessly as the massive new Hiruko slowly crawled out from the shadows.
"Old habits. I don't like living with others. You don't need to worry about it."
Sasori asked calmly:
"So urgent to find me—what's up?"
"Did you get any results from the investigation I asked you to do?"
After subduing Sasori that day, Oborotsuki had kept him in Kirigakure to help.
During this time, Sasori had been using his own intelligence network to gather information for Oborotsuki.
The main focus was on tailed beast clues.
He had also instructed Sasori to closely monitor Akatsuki's every move.
Now was the perfect time to use him.
"Akatsuki has already realized I betrayed them, so I can't go back."
"But I still have some spies inside the organization I can manipulate. Lately, Akatsuki's behavior has been very unusual—they've abandoned high-value bounty missions."
"Deva Path and Kakuzu left the village together. Their destination is unknown."
Sasori reported the intelligence he had gathered.
After waiting a moment and seeing he had nothing more to add, Oborotsuki frowned:
"That's all?"
"It's already quite impressive. Doing espionage work under Pain's Deva Path's nose—you should know how difficult that is."
Sasori responded.
Oborotsuki nodded.
He had to admit—Sasori was right.
In the original story, even Uchiha Itachi and Jiraiya had extreme difficulty extracting information from Akatsuki.
One couldn't speak freely; the other paid with his life just to send partial intel about the Six Paths of Pain.
For an ordinary person to retrieve information from that organization and escape unharmed would require top-tier spy skills.
"Abandoning high-value bounties? That's not Kakuzu's style at all."
"It seems… my guess was correct…"
Oborotsuki pinched his chin and muttered to himself.
"Your guess?"
Sasori looked up curiously.
"That's not something you need to concern yourself with. Your intelligence skills are top-notch—keep monitoring Akatsuki's movements. Also, any tailed beast leads?"
Oborotsuki changed the subject without answering.
"I only know that the One-Tail Shukaku in Sunagakure is currently sealed inside the monk Fūku. But that old man is advanced in age—he probably doesn't have much time left."
"Additionally, intelligence shows that Takigakure has the Seven-Tails."
"Four-Tails and Five-Tails are in Iwagakure; Two-Tails and Eight-Tails are in Kumogakure…"
"Here is the confirmed distribution of each tailed beast since the first Five Kage Summit. It hasn't changed since then."
"But their exact current locations are still unknown."
Sasori said as he handed over a detailed investigation report.
Actually, Oborotsuki already knew most of this information.
What he didn't know was the precise hiding places of the tailed beasts.
At this moment, he sighed inwardly and casually accepted the report from Sasori.
"In that case, I'll come find you again in a few days."
"Keep being your mountain hermit."
With those words, Oborotsuki jumped off the cliff.
…
After leaving Sasori, Oborotsuki did not return to Kirigakure.
He planned to wait until Mei came back, then ask her directly for more detailed information.
What he could confirm now was that Akatsuki was accelerating their tailed beast capture operations.
So his top priority was to prevent them from successfully capturing the remaining beasts.
Oborotsuki activated Flying Thunder God and once again arrived in Amegakure, intending to personally check the situation.
However, upon reaching the village, he found—as expected—that none of Akatsuki's core members were present.
Not a single one.
Ordinary grunts obviously wouldn't know about such secret operations.
Left with no choice, Oborotsuki changed plans and decided to head to Konoha first to see what was happening with Uchiha Mikoto.
…
On the cliff above the Hokage Rock in the back mountains of Konoha, Oborotsuki's figure slowly appeared.
Konoha, having recently suffered near-total destruction, now looked strangely peaceful under the glow of the setting sun.
Oborotsuki was just about to enter the village to further investigate the Uchiha clan's situation—
And see if there was any chance to secure Uchiha Mikoto.
But suddenly, he sensed two chakra signatures deep in the forest of the back mountains.
One of them was very familiar—Uchiha Obito.
His heart stirred. In an instant, he vanished from the spot.
…
Deep in the back mountain forest.
"You are…?"
Uchiha Itachi, who had just finished a full day of training, looked at the masked man who suddenly appeared and blocked his path—with surprise and caution.
"Kid, your talent is quite impressive."
"Among the younger generation of the Uchiha, you should be the most outstanding, right?"
Obito stared at Itachi calmly and asked.
But Itachi remained highly vigilant and ignored the probing remark:
"Who exactly are you?"
"A little brat these days doesn't even recognize me anymore…"
Obito sighed dramatically.
Then he slightly raised his gaze. Beneath the mask, one eye instantly transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Sharingan? You… you're from the Uchiha clan?"
Itachi's eyes widened in shock and uncertainty.
"I am Uchiha Madara."
Obito's tone carried an air of supreme arrogance.
"Uchiha… Madara?"
Itachi froze.
Even at less than six years old, he had heard the legendary name of that ancestor countless times.
"I've been observing you for some time. I have business today—we'll meet again when fate allows, kid!"
Obito had only come to make initial contact with Itachi, planning to slowly build a relationship.
The boy's displayed talent was exceptional—he believed Itachi could be useful in the future.
Now that introductions were made and they knew each other, the rest could be taken slowly.
There was no rush.
Oborotsuki, hidden nearby, silently watched the entire scene.
"So he's already planning to use Itachi this early?"
"Heh heh… looks like that guy has started moving against the Uchiha clan!"
Oborotsuki watched as Obito activated Kamui and vanished. A playful smile curled on his lips.
Everyone thought the Uchiha clan's rebellion against Konoha was forced by circumstance.
Very few knew just how much Obito had contributed to pushing them into opposition.
However, the more chaos Obito caused in Konoha, the more he drove the Uchiha toward enmity with the village—
The better it was for Oborotsuki.
Because now he knew exactly how he would secure Uchiha Mikoto.
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